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He Xiangu looked down at her feet and asked, "Is the reason you came back this time specifically to resolve your love tribulation?"

Ling Qing nodded. "Yes."

Turning to look at him, He Xiangu asked sternly, "Do you really want to give up this relationship that badly?"

"It isn't giving up—it's transforming love into affection." Ling Qing was not cowed by her. Smiling, he said, "Immortals are not without feeling. It is merely that private passions are the root of calamity and chaos, which is why the heavenly laws forbid them.

"In the Heavenly Court, the four Demon Family brothers are blood brothers; Jinzha, Muzha, and Nezha are blood brothers; the Seven Fairies are blood sisters. None of that is said to violate the heavenly laws."

He Xiangu's face broke into a smile. "You mean we should turn what lies between us into the affection of siblings? Brother and sister, or elder sister and younger brother?"

"No. We do not possess the prerequisite for becoming siblings." Ling Qing shook his head. "Among mortal couples, there are those who love each other until their hair turns white.

"But most transform romantic love into familial affection, the kind shared by family.

"Do you say they have love? Naturally, they do.

"But if you ask whether familial affection weighs more heavily, or romantic love does, I think familial affection is greater.

"Still, the familial affection between them differs from the affection between brothers and sisters.

"Dao companions, Dao companions—having passed through this tribulation, we need not be lovers who cultivate together.

"It would be quite good to become companions who seek the Dao together.

"Just like you, Iron Crutch Li, Han Zhongli, and the others.

"Seeking the Dao together, supporting one another."

He Xiangu nodded, her crescent-moon smiling eyes fixed on Ling Qing's.